Cal State-Northridge vs Cal State-Bakersfield 3/8/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners & CSU Northridge Matadors will square off at the Dollar Loan Center in the 1^st round of the Hercules Tires Big West Championship this Tuesday night.

The CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners finished their regular season with an overall record of 7-18 and earned the 9-seed in the Hercules Tires Big West Championship after finishing conference play with a 2-12 record. CSU Bakersfield was led by their defense, which ranks 118^th in scoring defense & 57^th in rebound margin, however, the Roadrunners struggled on the offensive end as they come into the conference tournament ranked just 321^st in scoring offense & 290^th in FG%. CSU Bakersfield finished their non-conference with a 5-4 record with an impressive win over Boise State on the road. CSU Bakersfield struggled in conference play with their only two victories coming against Cal Poly and come into this game on a 3-game losing streak.

On the season, CSU Bakersfield is averaging 64.4 ppg on 41.7% shooting from the field. The Roadrunners are averaging 3.8 three-pointers per game on 28.3% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, CSU Bakersfield has been led by Justin McCall (11.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg), Kaleb Higgins (9.5 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.0 spg), Justin Edler-Davis (8.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg), & Shawn Stith (7.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.0 apg).

Defensively, CSU Bakersfield is allowing their opponents to average 67.2 ppg on 44.5% shooting from the field. The Roadrunners have a rebound margin of 2.8 and a turnover margin of 2.2.

The CSU Northridge Matadors finished their regular season with an overall record of 7-22 and earned the 8-seed in the Hercules Tires Big West Championship after finishing conference play with a 3-13 record. CSU Northridge struggled on both ends of the court this season as the Matadors come into this game ranked 337^th in scoring offense, 327^th in FG%, & 244^th in scoring defense. CSU Northridge finished their non-conference schedule with an 8-4 overall record with their best victory coming in a 56-52 win at San Diego. CSU Northridge struggled in conference play losing 7 of their last 8 games, and come into this game with little momentum, losing their last 6 games.

On the season, CSU Northridge is averaging 62.1 ppg on 40.5% shooting from the field. The Matadors are averaging 5.2 three-pointers per game on 30.7% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, CSU Northridge has been led by Atin Wright (14.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.2 spg), Elijah Hardy (12.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.6 spg), Onyi Eyisi (9.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg), & Christian Gray (5.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.1 apg).

Defensively, CSU Northridge is allowing their opponents to an average of 71.7 ppg on 45.1% shooting from the field. The Matadors have a rebound margin of -5.4 and a turnover margin of 1.0.

The Roadrunners are 7-18-1 ATS in their last 26 games as a favorite & 6-20-1 ATS in their last 27 games overall. The Matadors are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning % below .400, however, are just 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games overall.

CSU Northridge defeated CSU Bakersfield in their only matchup the regular season as the Matadors defeated CSU Bakersfield by a 71-65 margin on the road in mid-February.

CSU Northridge was able to get the victory of CSU Bakersfield in the regular season, however, the Matadors have really struggled to close out their season with including losing their last 4 games by an average of 18.0 ppg. CSU Bakersfield has been solid defensively this season, including holding Boise State to just 39 points, and although the Roadrunners struggled throughout conference play, the Roadrunners looked solid in close losses to UC San Diego & UC Irvine to close out their regular season. CSU Northridge got the win over CSU Bakersfield in the regular season, however, I think the Roadrunners, behind a solid defensive performance, gets their revenge against the Matadors in this one and does enough to cover this spread. Good Luck!